Pokemon Black and White
by Obsessive Child
Summary: He'd caught a glimpse of it in Sinnoh, but it takes Unova for everything to fully manifest. With a more competent enemy, a friend whom he isn't really sure is a friend, travelling companions who have their own problems and secrets, and powers he doesn't really understand, can Ash hope to really make his light hearted journey to the Unovan League?
1. Chapter 1

A/n: I'm just going to have a spot of fun on the premises of 'what if Ash didn't get reset' for Unova. I honestly don't mind Best Wishes, but I've also been wanting to read an Unova AU for a while. There's Kanto ones, Hoenn ones, and even Sinnoh ones although Sinnoh is pretty hard to improve from, but sadly no Unova. So bear with me while I make a little AU just for the heck of it :)

xXxXxXx

"Alright!" Ash exclaimed as he jumped down onto blessed, solid ground again. Their plane, which had been carry himself and Pikachu, as well as his mum, Professor Oak, and about thirty other people, had finally landed. Spinning, Ash did a mini victory dance, throwing his fists into the air, "We've finally arrived!"

They were in Unova. Real, Unovan land. How awesome was that?

He was brimming with excitement. He'd thought, after Sinnoh, that there were no regions left, and Ash had been planning on challenging Kanto again when Professor Oak came with news about the new region that had opened.

He'd mentioned something about Unova having had a non-interference policy for the past few decades, and how they'd never allowed foreigners in but the board had recently rescinded the law and blah blah blah. Ash hadn't really been paying attention.

All he cared about was that there was a whole new area to explore, and dozens of new pokemon to see. Professor Oak _had_ explained enough about that. Apparently because Unova was so closed off and so far away, all the pokemon had evolved differently, so Ash was sure to see creatures he could have never even have dreamed of.

"Gaah, I'm so excited!" Ash bumbled out, ducking his head to suppress his toothy smile as he clenched a fist to his heart. He couldn't wait to get started.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu agreed as he also jumped down from the plane, landing beside Ash. His voice was equally as enthused.

Ash turned and grinned at his partner. It figured that it would be his oldest companion that always understood him. The grin slipped off his face however, when Pikachu's expression suddenly turned into one of wariness, and the small mouse pokemon turned towards the end of the docks.

"Pikachu?" Ash questioned, his tone suddenly turning more serious. His enthusiasm didn't exactly die down, but he did manage to suppress it for the moment. He recognized the semi-confused, semi-worried expression on his partner, and it never bode well. "What's the matter?"

Pikachu didn't respond. Instead he bounded towards the head of the peer, stopping only at the very edge. And then, he raised his gaze to the heavens.

Ash quickly went after Pikachu, noting vaguely out of the corner of his eye the other passengers of the plane making their way to the terminal. His mother and Professor Oak were among them.

He stopped by the mouse pokemon's side and followed his partner's gaze. His eyebrows raised in surprise. Quickly approaching the docked planes was a dark, swirling cloud, with a center that was glowing faintly blue.

The dark haired boy blinked, wondering if he'd seen the cloud coming in, but all his memories pointed to a clear sky as they docked. The cloud had literally appeared out of nowhere.

"Chaa," Pikachu growled low in his throat, sparks of yellow electricity cracking from his cheek pouches.

Ash knew that it couldn't be a good thing. Most unnatural phenomenon which upset pokemon rarely were.

But he didn't back away. The cloud didn't feel… dangerous.

No, that wasn't quite right. The cloud _did_ feel dangerous, but just not like it was going to put them _in_ danger. Ash wasn't sure how to explain it, just as he wasn't sure how he knew he'd seen Ho-oh when the clouds cleared the first day he became a trainer or how he was able to locate Rilou during the race against Hunter J. It was his instincts that saved him more than a few times during his pokemon battles, and it was his instincts which helped him survive encounters with the various crime syndicates throughout the regions, and his instincts at the moment weren't telling him to hide.

Instead, he took a step forward, almost entranced by the massive black cold, "What is that…?"

And before anyone could really answer, Team Rocket struck.

They'd changed their motto, again, and it was with some annoyance that Ash ripped his attention away from the awe inspiring cloud to deal with them. They'd captured Pikachu in some kind of electricity nulling device, and of course, Ash didn't have any other pokemon to deal with them because he'd left them all back in Kanto!

"Don't I ever get one day free from you guys?" Ash asked with some aggravation. He knew he was kind of being unfair, because Team Rocket wasn't even that bad when push came to shove, but seriously! This was his first day in Unova. His! Why did Team Rocket always have to try and ruin everything?

James opened his mouth to reply, but before they could, the air above them cackled ominously. Instantly five pairs of eyes were drawn upwards. Sometime during the course of their engagement the cloud had floated directly above them.

There was a strange sort of sound, and then, out of nowhere, the center erupted.

A waterfall of blue light burst from the center, plunging directly on top of them. The small metal cage holding Pikachu exploded, making Ash cry out as both he and Pikachu were sent to the ground with the force.

He felt himself black out for a moment before waking up to blue, lots of blue. Wincing, Ash quickly checked himself to make sure nothing was broken before stumbling to his feet. They were in an odd blue ring of some sort, with the light splashed onto everyone's faces like those high rise aquariums. Team Rocket was also on the ground, but what caught Ash's attention wasn't them.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted worriedly. His partner was radiating or drawing in the odd blue light, but either option didn't look good.

And then, suddenly, Pikachu let out a cry and forced up a thunderbolt into the clouds. The clouds near the center dispersed, revealing a hidden black figure in the center.

Ash's eyes widened as an odd sensation shuddered through his body. He felt his breath catch as the feelings that had hit him when he'd first seen the cloud were multiplied by a hundred. Awe, wariness, warmth, trepidation, sorrow, terror, sanctuary.

Before he could fully process the impressions however, the creature in the clouds must have felt that it had had enough. With a flap of its powerful wings, the dragon like figure shot itself towards the heavens. A great torrent of wind came barrelling down as a result, dispersing the clouds and unfortunately, doing much more than that.

Ash and Pikachu both cried out as they were knocked to the ground once again, the wind sending them skidding. Ash groaned as the sky cleared and pushed himself to a seating position.

Brown eyes widened when he saw Pikachu laying motionlessly a few feet from his side, and within a second Ash was beside his partner, on his knees and already scooping up the electric mouse pokemon in a delicate hug.

"Pikachu," Ash said worriedly, subtly scanning the pokemon for any injuries. There didn't seem to be any, but one couldn't tell from just eyeballing alone. "Pikachu, are you alright?"

He felt guilty about the whole thing. He didn't know why he hadn't just run away when he'd first seen the cloud. Any normal person would have done that, right? And now, Pikachu was hurt.

As if reading his mind, Pikachu's eyes fluttered open, and the small electric pokemon smiled up at him as if to tell him everything was alright.

"Pi pika chu," he piped weakly, before putting his puny arms up for a hug. Smiling, Ash did so, and his oldest pokemon nuzzled him back eagerly.

Their little moment however, was broken by more serious matters.

"Ash!"

"Ash!"

Ash looked up from his pokemon, just in time to see his mother and Professor Oak skid to a halt in front of him. He realized that they must have come back from the terminal to check up on him.

"Are you alright?" His mother asked, worry lining every inch of her voice.

Ash felt a stab of guilt pierce his heart. He'd done it again—he'd put himself in danger directly in front of her sight.

Normally he could kind of get away with it because she didn't know and would never know, but this was just plain stupid. Although Ash didn't exactly see the danger in his habit of acting first and thinking of the consequences later, at the moment, looking into his mother's distraught face, he almost wanted to be able to change it.

He smiled back at her weakly, "Yeah, I'm alright."

"And you're sure that nothing happened to you?" Professor Oak questioned, sounding equally as worried. Thankfully he didn't quite pull at Ash's heartstrings the way that his mother did.

Ash was able to give a more realistic smile this time. He raised his arms as if to show himself off, doing a little spin with his body, "Yes see? Still the same amazing self as always."

Professor Oak laughed, "Gary's rubbing off on you."

Ash made a face in reply.

They talked a bit more, about the cloud, about what he had seen. Ash could tell that the worry still hadn't completely disappeared from his mother, but she was getting lighter with every sentence and he could live with that.

Soon another woman came to join them on the pier. Professor Oak introduced her as one of Unova's own pokemon researchers, Professor Juniper. She was apparently their transport for the day.

When introductions were done and luggage was unloaded from the plane, they were off to a place called Nuvema Town. Professor Juniper drove them all in her jeep, which was pretty wicked awesome cool. Ash made a note to get a jeep in the future.

On the way to Nuvema Town, Ash couldn't help but marvel at all the pokemon they passed. Even though a lot of them were very similar to the types he'd seen in the other regions, they weren't the exact same. That entertained him for a good chunk of time.

That was, until Pikachu's electricity started acting up again. Ash's attention was drawn from wild pokemon watching to his own pokemon watching. He couldn't help but wonder if maybe that storm had affected Pikachu in a not-alright way after all.

Thankfully Professor Juniper offered a solution, "Let's do a checkup on him when we reach the labs, alright?"

Ash smiled gratefully at her, though she couldn't see it because he was sitting in the back and she was well, driving. If she saw his smile that would have meant that she looked back, and that was dangerous. "Thanks!"

Thankfully they made it back to the lab without anything happening to Pikachu, and all the preliminary test results seemed promising. They were interrupted by one of Professor Juniper's assistants who declared that a starting trainer had arrived, and Ash found himself caught in the excitement.

Now that he'd confirmed Pikachu was alright, there was nothing to keep him down anymore.

He left with Professor Juniper to greet the new trainer, giving a happy apology to Pikachu for leaving him to conduct more tests. Pikachu grumbled and glared, and Ash silently promised to buy his partner some of the best treats next time in town.

They exited into a large, spacious waiting room. A boy with sandy brown hair and orange clothing who looked about his age was taking pictures of just about everything, but no one else was within sight.

"Hi, Trip!" Juniper greeted, smiling happily as she walked in. By her side, her assistant wheeled a cart of three pokeballs into the room.

The boy instantly turned around, tucking away his camera as an answering smile erupted on his own face, "Hello, Professor Juniper. At last, the day when I too start the journey as a pokemon trainer as come."

"Woah, _you're_ the starting trainer?" Ash exclaimed, realizing just then that this wasn't just a random guy waiting on Juniper. "Aren't you a little too old?"

Trip turned a glare on him, "And who are you?"

"This is Ash Ketchum, from Pallet, Kanto," Juniper introduced cordially, before turning with a twinkle in her eye towards Ash, "and the starting age for a pokemon journey in Unova is sixteen. I hear it's different in Kanto?"

"We start at ten," Ash confirmed. He didn't know what he'd do if he had to wait another six years to begin on his pokemon journey. He shot a grin at the other boy, "Nice to meet you, Trip."

And then the professor brought out the pokemon.

Ash spent a good chunk of time fussing over each of them. He'd never seen any of them before, and they all looked great! Remembering his own woes over whether to pick charmander, squirtle, or bulbasaur, he tried to be as helpful as he could in advising Trip into which type of pokemon to choose.

"Woah, Tepig is so energetic. Aww, and look at how cute Oshawott is! Oh oh, but Snivy is so cool!"

Trip was a lot more decisive than Ash. Ash grinned as Trip almost immediately picked Snivy, realizing that it meant that the other boy had actually given his choice a lot of thought before even setting foot in the lab.

Juniper handed out the rest of the needed equipment to Trip, including five empty pokeballs and a pokedex to help him with his travels. When that was done, Juniper headed back towards her inner sanctuary, just as Pikachu rushed out.

"Pika pi!" The small mouse pokemon exclaimed as it ran out of the actual labs and onto Ash's shoulder.

Ash laughed as he reached up to scratch his greatest friend, "Pikachu! Are the examinations over?"

Trip's eyes widened, and he dug out the pokedex he'd just put away. "What's that pokemon?"

It rattled off some information that wasn't exactly inaccurate, though rather useless in Ash's opinion. And then Trip began taking pictures.

"What are you doing?" Ash asked in confusion as Trip walked around him, snapping pictures all the while.

"This is why hillbillies are troublesome," Trip sighed, shaking his head. "Listen! A Pikachu in the Unova region, that's an incident!"

Now it was Ash's turn to snort, although his was in good humor. It was kind of a silly assumption to make, considering that Pikachu had come straight for him, a trainer from _Kanto_. But, well, he'd made a lot of mistakes when he was younger, so it was only fair to cut everyone else a fair amount of slack.

"It's not an incident," he replied bemusedly, reaching up a hand and scratching the back of Pikachu's neck. The small mouse pokemon let out a 'chaa' of contentment, curling up against his shoulder. Ash laughed, "Pikachu is my number one partner."

Trip's eyes glittered with something that Ash knew only too well, "Is it strong?"

"Of course he is."

"Pika pika!"

Ash grinned at his pokemon, before turning back to Trip with a gleam in his eyes, "Want to try him out?"

Trip's eyes widened, and then he smiled, "Yes."

Now this, Ash could handle. Trip might not have had the sunniest personality in the world, but he was an enthusiastic trainer. He allowed Trip to show him to the battle grounds, not at all surprised to see that it was directly outside of Professor Juniper's lab. He still wasn't sure why every research facility had a pokemon battle arena in their backyard, but maybe it was to sate trainers like Trip and himself?

They took their sides, with Ash closest to Juniper's facility and Trip with his back to the forest.

Trip tossed his newly acquired pokeball, and a moment later a beam of red light erupted from the machine, unveiling a proud green creature with a lithe, curved body. "Go, Snivy!"

"Pikachu, you ready?" Ash asked, and with a nod, his partner hopped off his shoulder and onto the battlefield.

Pikachu crouched in an offensive stance, only to be taken off balance by the flash of a camera.

"Eh?" Ash exclaimed, giving an odd look at his companion who was snapping up photos like he'd never see tomorrow, "Why are you constantly taking pictures?"

"I'm documenting my journey. Especially since this is Snivy's first battle."

Really.

Ash blinked, and it was all he could do to suppress an excited grin. He was getting to like Trip. The other boy seemed to care a ton for his pokemon as well, if he was documenting them. His eyes glittering, Ash made his reply, "This is our first battle in the Unova region as well. I'll give you first call."

Trip smirked, "Don't underestimate me. Snivy, Vine Whip!"

Twin coils of steely shoots emerged from Snivy's neck area, thrashing towards Pikachu at lightning speed. Ash had seen that attack many times before though, and even though it was coming from an entirely new pokemon, he knew how to deal with it.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

The yellow mouse pokemon sped towards the starter, easily avoiding the vines as he reached a speed where the vines could only hit the afterimages.

"Snivy, dodge!"

The grass type pokemon quickly let up on Vine Whip, just barely moving out of the way for Pikachu's Quick Attack. Snivy didn't manage to avoid it completely, but he'd also managed to not take the full damage. With no further orders from his trainer, Pikachu sprang back, awaiting Ash's next command.

This wasn't a League battle though, so Ash didn't feel the need to make every second count. There was plenty of time to have fun.

"Your Snivy is quite fast," Ash grinned.

"Your Pikachu isn't bad either," Trip grinned back, before slashing his arm outwards in command, "but I'll show you something you'll regret. Leaf Tornado!"

Ash's eyes widened as the winds picked up and a moment later, a torrent of leaves went barrelling toward Pikachu.

"Pikachu, dodge!" He screamed.

Thankfully the little guy was fast. He'd managed to go up against a Latios and draw, after all. Pikachu flung himself to the side, just barely avoiding the tunneling leaves.

Ash smiled grimly, "That was a cool move. I'll show you a cool move in return. Pikachu, Volt Tackle!"

Pikachu grinned, his cheeks sparking. Suddenly the little mouse pokemon took off, dashing towards Snivy in an all too familiar run. Any second now electricity would wrap around the smaller creature, creating a powerful force that was not to be taken lightly.

Except, the electricity never came.

"Pi pi pi… pi?" Pikachu trailed off in confusion as he slowed, his move never quite taking hold.

It was a mistake. Snivy, sensing the moment of distraction, slammed into Pikachu, tossing the other pokemon to the other side of the field. Pikachu hit the floor with a loud thud, sending up plumes of dust.

Ash's eyes widened, "What the…?"

Back when Pikachu had first been learning Volt Tackle, it'd been a common occurrence for the move to fail in the middle of a battle. But that had been over a year ago, when he'd still been travelling Kanto for the Frontier Brains challenge. Pikachu hadn't had a problem with the move since.

Trip also looked confused, but his was more of a contemptuous rage. "Are you even taking this seriously?"

"Pii," the mouse pokemon whimpered as he tried to get back on its feet. He looked winded from the direct hit. Despite the fact that Pikachu had participated in the most battles out of all of Ash's pokemon, his power of defense itself was still pretty low. They mostly replied on speed, which meant _not_ getting hit, so that blow had to have hurt.

"Alright," Ash murmured to himself, feeling the first hint of worry. He couldn't imagine why Volt Tackle wouldn't work, but he also knew that it wasn't really a time to ponder it, "Let's try something a bit more familiar. Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu narrowed his eyes, gathering up his energy, "CHUU!"

…and again, nothing happened.

"Is this some kind of strategy?" Trip asked derisively, the sense of comradeship he'd experienced earlier from the battle quickly fading in the face of what was happening. "Commanding moves that it doesn't even know how to use?"

Ash gritted his teeth, "Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

His mood boiling to match his trainer's, Pikachu's tail glowed white with power, and without wasting another second, he pushed himself towards Snivy, tail out to strike. Snivy managed to dodge it, abet just barely, but the fact that the attack didn't hit didn't really matter.

Ash grinned, clenching his fists in victory, "Yes! As long as it's not an electric type move, I can contin—"

He stopped mid sentence as his mind flashed back to a similar scene, where he had pushed and pushed even when his pokemon could no longer be pushed. He was making the same mistake again, forgetting the state of his pokemon for the sake of his battle.

"Wait, stop! Stop stop STOP!"

The battle stopped. Both pokemon turned to look at Ash, Snivy looking aloof and Pikachu looking heartbroken.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu cried, shaking his head as it spread out its little arms.

"You want to continue?" Ash asked in confusion.

"Pika pi. Pii!"

Ash bit his lip worriedly, "Are you sure?"

Pikachu nodded decisively.

Ash sighed, looking back at his challenger, "It looks like Pikachu doesn't want to leave you with the wrong impression about Kanto pokemon. But I'm worried about him. I really did want our first battle to be a lot more fun."

Trip narrowed his eyes, "Are you using this as an excuse to stop a losing battle?"

Ash grinned, "Hardly, but I'm going in for the kill. Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

"If you could have, you already would have! Snivy, counter with Leaf Tornado."

Ash's lips curved at the response, "I've already seen that move Trip. It won't work a second time. Pikachu, use Iron Tail to execute a Body Slam. Counter the Leaf Storm with spinning!"

Trip blinked at the confused commands, "What are you…?"

But whatever Trip thought didn't matter. What mattered was that Pikachu understood.

Having long since gotten used to his trainer's strange commands, Pikachu knew exactly what Ash meant by his words and executed them perfectly. Using Iron Tail, Pikachu sprang up directly in the path of the coming Leaf Storm, spinning as he did so. Months of training for the very same move in Sinnoh allowed him to pass directly through the eye, the spinning helped along by Snivy's attack lending to his momentum.

Trip's eyes widened, "What the—"

But it was already too late. Pikachu had already body slammed into Snivy, and with the added momentum of three attacks, the grass pokemon didn't stand a chance. With a cry of pain the grass pokemon staggered backwards, his attack letting up with his loss in concentration.

"And now," Ash cried, timing it perfectly, "Flip and use Iron Tail!"

Sticking out one paw onto Snivy's body to use as a grounding point, Pikachu flipped his body over, his tail glowing white with power. Snivy didn't have a chance to recuperate before the mouse type pokemon slammed down hard steel onto his head, knocking him out instantly.

Pikachu made another flip and landed on two paws, giving a small bow, just as Snivy collapsed behind him.

Trip fell to his knees, eyes wide as he stared up at Ash, "What was… that combination?"

"My own, very cool moves," Ash replied with a wink just as Pikachu ran out of the battlefield and scampered up his arm. And then, he shook his head, "Sorry, I didn't mean to go too hard on you. Look, don't worry about it. It took me years to get here. You're doing way better than I did when I first started out."

"That's not—" Trip began, only to break off into a sigh, "Is Pikachu really in bad shape?"

"Yeah," Ash replied worriedly, scratching his pokemon's cheek.

"So it's not even at full power, and you still managed to defeat me," Trip said grimly.

"Look, look, like I said, you just don't have the experience yet," Ash quickly assured. "Heck, it took me _forever_. Anyway, I've got to run. You're going for the Unova League too, right? I hope we'll see each other on the way for Gym Badges!"

With one last wave at Trip, Ash raced back into the lab facilities. As much as he would have loved to give advice to a new trainer, Pikachu mattered more.

xXxXxXx

Note about Trip: I'd almost apologize for making Ash own him so hard, but who can honestly say that they didn't want to see that? I hate just rewriting a bunch of scenes to make Ash seem super powerful, but I'm so mad about what Best Wishes did with Trip! Honestly, if they couldn't top Paul (which I admit, is probably impossible to do) then they could have gone with a no-rival thing. It worked fine for AG/Hoenn. Trip honestly had no business being a rival. Gary was Ash's childhood friend/enemy, and Paul was Ash's opposite in so many ways that Ash just had to prove himself. Why did Ash even want to beat Trip so badly? So yeah, kinda taking out my aggression about him here. The Junior Cup was especially frustrating. Trip showed some promise when he became obsessed with strength, but then he mellowed out at the end..?! But hey, I don't hate on Trip. I just don't like him as Ash's main rival.


	2. Chapter 2

xXxXxXx

Pikachu, thankfully, turned out to be fine. Professor Juniper had to quickly reassess her previous statement and had declared that Pikachu was in some sort of electrical overload, but before it could get dangerous, all of it got diffused.

Ash had no idea how it had happened. One minute they were all worried that Pikachu was going to be sick for the rest of his life, and the next somehow his entire overload had dissipated. He was even able to use his electric moves again.

The last time Pikachu had fallen into such a state, it'd taken another crazy machine from Team Rocket to get him out of that funk. Ash wasn't very fond of the trio, but he did have to admit that thinking back on it, they did unintentionally help Ash and his friends with a lot of their problems.

Ash wasn't going to question what had happened this time too hard. He was just glad that his long time partner was okay. Strange things always happened in the pokemon world, and like all the others, Ash just took this one in stride.

He left his mom and Professor Oak back at Juniper's, taking with him only his pack and five empty pokeballs. It'd been an embarrassingly tearful goodbye from his mother, with a lot of hugs and promises to call whenever he could. By the end of it, he was glad to get out.

"You don't think we're going to end up accidentally destroying another bike and gaining a companion, do you?" Ash asked his Pikachu as they moved languidly down Route 1.

Pikachu, who'd been sitting on Ash's shoulder, slumped as his cheek pouches sparked, "Pika pii."

Ash laughed, giving the little guy an extra fond scratch. He knew exactly what Pikachu was thinking. It'd been the little mouse pokemon who had single handily electrocuted three different bikes after all. "Alright, I get it. But it's not like any of them blamed you anyway. They all found you too cute."

"Chaa," Pikachu replied happily, nuzzling up against his neck.

They walked for a bit more before finally taking a break. They'd made some headway. By that time they were already far enough in the forest that they couldn't see the entrance let alone Nuvema town, and Ash decided that they deserved some rest.

Thankfully Route 1 was a well travelled path and there were plenty of benches for the roving trainer. Ash and Pikachu simply had to pick one before settling down for their noon time meal. Seating himself, Ash shrugged off his backpack and dumped out the foodstuffs within.

Ash's face fell when he saw what his mother had prepared for him.

"What I wouldn't do for Brock right now," Ash said mournfully as he reached out and picked up one of the granola bars that'd fallen out of the pack. There was nothing else in there. Not even a chocolate bar.

"Pikachu," his partner agreed, his ears drooping. The packs of pokefood were all store bought, and while they were not _bad_ per se, they did nothing to touch Brock's specialized pokemon breeding food.

Ash sighed and flopped down on the bench. Suddenly he didn't feel quite so hungry anymore. Granola bars weren't exactly the most appetizing meals on the planet, after all. He wrinkled his nose, wondering why his mom couldn't have packed something better.

And then he shook his head, flipping himself back to a sitting position again. One hand rising in a fist of determination, Ash nodded at his pokemon, "Well, even if it's not Brock's food, we've got to eat it to keep our strength up, Pikachu. Or how else are we going to meet a lot of new Pokemon and win all the Gym Battles?"

Pikachu immediately straightened, his ears perking up again as a glint entered his eyes, "Pi! Pika pi!"

"That's right," Ash grinned, reaching out and swiping a granola bar from the pile. He took a bite out of it, ripping off the wrapper with his teeth, "We've got to eat Pikachu, eat!"

"Pika pi!" Pikachu agreed energetically, and dug into his pokefood.

They ate and ate and ate until they could eat no more. When they were finally done, Ash felt as if his belly had grown another size, and he was satisfied.

"To the first gym!" Ash cried as he leapt up from the bench when they'd finally taken more than their fill.

"Chaa!" Pikachu seconded, equally as enthusiastic.

It was just then that they heard a fierce cry break through the air.

Ash and Pikachu exchanged a glance.

"What was that, do you suppose?" Ash asked, his gaze betraying him as he glanced towards the direction of the sound, "Do you think that we should check it out?"

"Pi pika chu!"

"You're right, someone could be in trouble."

Quickly packing up their food, Ash raced towards the sound of the screech. Pikachu was hot on his heel. As they neared, the cries began becoming clearer. Ash realized that it wasn't just a single voice that he heard, but two. He also realized that they weren't exactly human cries.

"What in the world…?" Ash murmured, just as he and Pikachu cleared the last stretch of trees and mellowed out into a clearing. He stopped, frozen in his tracks as he looked at the sight before him.

Two large birds of prey stood before each other, both panting heavily as they glared at one another. They had a long trailing reddish hood on their heads, a grey coat and a soft green underbelly. Another bird of grey plumage and no fancy headdress stood a fair distance away, smack dab between the other two as it looked on coolly.

Quite suddenly one of the red haired birds lifted its head to the skies and let out a battle cry, and Ash realized that _that_ was the sound he'd heard. It hadn't been a cry for help. It'd been—well, he didn't know what it was, exactly.

And then the bird raised its wings, and let out a flurry of slicing winds.

"Eep!" Ash squeaked, quickly ducking behind a nearby bush, dragging Pikachu with him who gave a confused 'chaa'. It was only when he popped his head out again that he realized that the bird hadn't been aiming for him.

The severing winds hit the area where the other bird had been moments before, but the other red haired bird had long since moved on, lifting itself into the air as it retaliated with a move that Ash could only read as Air Cutter.

Ash's eyes widened as he quickly realized what was going on. Hurriedly digging around in his pocket, he pulled out a small red and grey device. He pointed it towards one of the birds and a moment later, the image of the creature was brought to life on the screen of his device.

**Unfezant,** the pokedex chirped, **the Proud Pokémon and the evolved form of Tranquill. Males occasionally will battle each other in order to vie for a Female's attention so that she may choose them as her mate.**

"Wow," Ash breathed, "this is great! We get to watch a natural battle!"

Tucking the pokedex back into his pockets, Ash focused all his attention on the battle. Following the other bird, the first male took to the sky and they circled each other as they unleashed fearsome attacks. They never strayed too far from the female bird though, no doubt wanting her to see them show off all their power.

Eventually with a well executed Air Slash, the second bird pokemon won. Unpleased but honor bound, the first Unfezant limped off elsewhere to treat his wounds. Cooing with victory, the first Unfezant took off with the female, who looked well pleased by the strength of her new mate.

Ash exhaled when it was all over and done, and he and Pikachu were left alone again.

"That was an amazing contest, wasn't it?" Ash asked with a big grin on his face.

Pikachu nodded in agreement, his cheeks sparking as his eyes blazed with barely concealed anticipation. "Pika pika!"

"Oh, so watching them has stirred you up?" Ash laughed. He straightened from the crouch he'd fallen into and standing up again. He pulled one arm up in a stretch, rolling out all the kinks that'd settled in during his long squat, "Then we should get back to getting to _our_ next battle, yeah?"

"Pi pika chu!"

Ash nodded, turning on his heel back towards the direction they had come from. Except, he realized that he had no idea what direction it was that they had came. All the trees looked exactly the same. Hesitantly, Ash looked back to his long time partner, and hoped that Pikachu liked him enough now not to outright kill him.

"Uh… where are we?"

xXxXxXx

They were utterly lost.

It took Ash about a day and a half to admit that, and that was only because they were running short on food and he was getting hungry.

"Why's it all gone already?" Ash groaned, "Mom said the food was supposed to last for a week at least."

"Pikachuu, pi pika."

"What? You think that we shouldn't have eaten so much in preparations for Gym Battles even though we hadn't even reached the city yet?"

"Pika pi pika pii."

"And that I shouldn't have left granola crumb trails in hopes that we'd be able to follow them later, but come on! They worked for Hansel and Gretel!"

"Chuu pika chuu!"

"What do you mean the forest pokemon at them all? Why didn't you tell me this sooner then?!"

"Pii. Chuu. Pi Pi."

Ash sighed, "You didn't know either? Sorry for blowing up at you Pikachu. I'm just hungry."

"Pika pii," Pikachu said forgivingly, hopping up on Ash's shoulder to pat his trainer's head.

Ash couldn't be consoled. If he were completely honest with himself, he knew he'd been lost the moment that his mind was broken from the Unfezant battle. He'd always been terrible with directions, and with travelling companions like Misty, Brock, and even Max, he'd never seen need to correct it.

"What if we never make it back to civilization?" Ash shivered, "Then I'll never be able to have my Gym Matches!"

Pikachu gave him a flat look, to which he replied with a nervous laugh.

He knew he should have known better than to stray from the path. Ash had never been able to make his way back himself in the past after all. Still, to his credit, he had seriously thought that someone was in trouble.

"Well, there's only one way out of this mess then," Ash said, looping a pokeball from his belt and enlarging it. "We've got to get ourselves a friend who can fly."

It should have been expected, really. New regions always meant getting a new flying type pokemon.

Pikachu seemed pleased at this idea, and he hopped off Ash's shoulder in readiness, his little paws already bunched up into fists. A confident smile on his face, Pikachu's cheek pouches sparked with eagerness, "Pii!"

Ash nodded to show that he understood, took a deep breath, and let out an ear splitting yell.

The creatures of the forest startled, many types of insects dropping out of their places on the tree branches and small burrowing animals scurrying from their hidden holes. What mattered most however, were the bird pokemon that scattered from the sudden noise, emerging from the most concealed of places as they took flight and filled the air with heavy squawking.

"Alright Pikachu," Ash yelled so that he could be heard over the din. "Thunderbolt!"

"Pika CHUU!" The small electric rodent shouted, sending up streams of yellow lightning into the air.

The thunderbolts struck true.

Too busy trying to fly away from an imaginary foe, none of the birds thought to look downwards for the source of the commotion. Pikachu's attack easily connected with a small grey bird, who let out a pained cry as it was forcibly brought down and smashed into the ground.

It sent up plumes of dust, showing how hard the fall must have been. Coupled with the super effective attack that thunderbolt must have been, Ash could essentially guess that it was down for the count.

"Pokeball, go!" Ash yelled, throwing his monster ball at the small creature.

Unfortunately, he just happened to be wrong this time.

"Dove!" The little critter cried, somehow just managing to push itself away. The pokeball bounced and rolled to a stop, just as the bird pokemon slammed its wing against the ground and sent up another cloud of dust.

"What are you serious?" Ash exclaimed in astonishment before quickly waving Pikachu over. If Thunderbolt didn't do the job, then that just meant that they'd have to use another finishing move. "Alright Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

Pikachu didn't waste any time. Cheeks sparking, the mouse pokemon dashed into the cloud of dust, only to let out a confused cry.

Ash took an automatic step forward, worried that something had happened to his partner, and it was then that the dust cleared.

Pikachu was standing in the center looking confused as he twisted his head around, looking for his opponent. The bird pokemon was nowhere in sight.

Ash's mouth dropped open, "It got away?!"

"Pika pi," Pikachu answered, his ears drooping. And then, quite suddenly, he perked up. A look of intense concentration on his face, Pikachu's ears twitched left and right before suddenly, the little mouse pokemon took off.

Ash took this to mean that Pikachu had caught glimpse of where the flying type pokemon might be through his hearing. Scooping up the fallen pokeball, Ash hurriedly chased after his long time partner.

They weaved through trees and other forms of plantation, jumped over fallen trunks and snags of grassy roots. Finally they arrived at a small, sun lit clearing.

Ash and Pikachu skidded to a stop.

At the center of the clearing was a boy who looked about the same age as Ash. He was sitting atop a large, protruding rock, one knee drawn up to his chest and the other dangling languidly from the cool hard stone. He had on a black baseball cap on his head, effectively obscuring his features.

In his arms was the bird pokemon that Ash and Pikachu had been chasing.

"She's hurt because of you," the capped boy said without looking up. His voice was as flat as the rock he was sitting on.

"Oh, is she your pokemon?" Ash winced. If that were the case, then it would explain why it had been able to withstand Pikachu's attack. Trained pokemon were often stronger than wild ones. It would also mean that Ash had just accidentally attacked someone else's partner.

Having had the same thing happen to Pikachu numerous times in the past, Ash knew how annoying that could be. He opened his mouth to apologize, but the other trainer spoke before he could.

"Pidove does not belong to me, nor to anyone. She is her own pokemon."

"Huh? But you—"

"Why is it that it's okay to hurt wild pokemon?"

"I wasn't trying to hurt her!" Ash protested.

"Weren't you?" the green haired teen asked unblinkingly, turning finally so that Ash could fully see him. His face was completely blank, and his eyes were an icy sort of blue that only radiated coolness, but that wasn't what had Ash's attention.

It was the Pidove in the boy's arms.

The little critter was lying limp, almost as if the green haired boy was the only thing keeping her up. Her once gorgeous features were black and ruffled with burns, and there were numerous small cuts across her body from her fall. She gave a pitiful, weak little cry, burying herself further into the one who held her.

"I…I…" Ash was at a loss for what to say.

He really hadn't meant to hurt the pokemon, but what other way was there to catch one other than battle? The fact of the matter was, pokemon battled, and battles hurt. But, it felt like too callous of a thing to say, and quite frankly, looking at the pained form of the Pidove now, Ash was finding it hard within himself to believe it.

He glanced down at his partner, who'd only been silently listening during the whole exchange. "Pikachu, was I wrong?"

There was a long moment of silence, where Ash feared that he'd indeed made the wrong move by ordering Pikachu to attack the bird pokemon. What if Pikachu hadn't indeed wanted to fight his own kind, and it was only because of Ash that they'd put a passing pokemon into such a state?

And then Pikachu shook his head, "Pi pika chu. Pi pi. Chaa. Pika pika pi."

"You think so buddy?" Ash sighed, feeling oddly relieved at the answer. That was right though! Most pokemon were okay with fighting and bonding with trainers. This case was just an exception, and it didn't mean that Ash's whole philosophy was wrong.

For the first time, a spark of interest entering the green haired boy's eyes, "You understand Pikachu?"

Ash blinked, for a moment confused before he remembered that he'd just 'talked' to Pikachu in front of the other boy. He let out a hesitant laugh, scratching the back of his head, "Well not really. I mean I can't talk to him or anything, but we've been together so long that I can basically tell what he's saying."

"Pika pi," Pikachu agreed.

"Ah." Immediately the boy's face blanked again, his whole being seeming to retreat at Ash's honest answer. "Then you're just another who cannot understand the voices of pokemon."

"Eh…?"

"Pi pika pi," Pikachu protested, jumping off of Ash's shoulder and waving his arms in front of him, "Pi pika chuu pika!"

"I cannot take your word for it," the boy said in reply, staring directly at the mouse pokemon. He sounded almost sad, "I'm sorry, but you are his partner."

Without giving Ash a chance to reply, the boy hopped off his rock and with a final nod at Pikachu, disappeared back into the forests.

Ash stared after him in something close to shock.

He shifted to his other foot. His first instinct was to ask what that was all about, but deep down inside him, he thought he knew. The other trainer's purpose seemed to have been giving Ash a harsh lesson on wild pokemon, and, well, he wasn't wrong. Ash regretted not being able to apologize to the pidove before they left though.

"We meet a lot of strange personalities, don't we Pikachu?" Ash said with a shake of his head, turning back to the forests in hopes of getting out again.

"Pika. Pika pi!" The little mouse pokemon disagreed, dashing after Ash.

Ash let out a laugh at the reply as he welcomed his partner back to his side, "You think that we're strange too? Hey hey, I think we're a lot better than Barry and Conway, aren't we?"

Pikachu's shudder in response was all the answer Ash needed.

Unfortunately, their second attempt at finding a way out of the forest went no better than their first.

"Should we… try to catch another Pidove?" Ash asked hesitantly after a while. He glanced towards the sky. There were a lot, and he doubted that it would be very hard, and he and Pikachu did need a flying type so that they could get out of the forest.

Still, the thought of damaging another pokemon so soon after he'd just been criticized for not thinking of the thoughts of pokemon was a little callous, even for him.

"Hm, maybe not," Ash sighed. Giving up on capturing pokemon was ridiculous. A large part of why he was a trainer was because of the amazing feeling of getting closer to one's pokemon and truly connecting with them. But he couldn't do it now, not with the strange meeting with that other boy having happened so soon.

Still, how could they get out?

Thankfully, the answer came to them. Ash credited it to his awesome luck. Pikachu would have said that it was closer to 'dumb luck', but the results were the same. They managed to stumble across a purple haired girl and her Axew napping at the bottom of one of the trees. Ash had stumbled over her, and after the initial rush of apologies, she'd noticed Pikachu.

"Huh? A Pikachu? Ahh, so cute!" The girl squealed, swooping down and scooping the small electric pokemon up before he had time to protest. And then she promptly proceeded to torture the mouse pokemon by pulling at his cheeks and crushing the air out of him.

Ash winced, shooting his partner a sympathetic glance. He could practically feel the pain just looking at him. Even the heavy compliments she laid on the pokemon, which was usually something Pikachu soaked up like a sponge, seemed to do nothing to quell the discomfort of being squished against a virtual stranger.

"But, but, why?" The purple haired girl continued, her eyes sparkling as she questioned Ash. She was still nuzzling Pikachu, not seeming to notice his vain struggles to escape her grasp. "Why is a Pikachu here? Come on, tell me!"

Ash scratched his cheek, wondering if he should help his partner out. Then again, he'd long since learned better than to get in the way of girls and something that they considered cute. He laughed nervously, "Well…"

And that was how Ash came to know Iris.

xXxXxXx

A/n: Btw, did anyone find it funny that Ash's whole thing with Paul was that he shouldn't only try to capture the strongest pokemon, yet Ash almost always (abet unintentionally) ends up only capturing already strong pokemon?


	3. Chapter 3

xXxXxXx

Iris, thankfully, knew her directions very well.

"You're lost?" She asked, shocked when he had explained his situation to her. She let out a snort, covered her mouth, and then burst out into laughter.

"It's not that ridiculous!" Ash said hotly, although without any real menace.

"It's just, well," she pointed in the northeast direction, "the path you're looking for is about five yards from here."

Ash's eyes went as wide as saucers, "Are you serious?"

"You could probably spot the path from here even with trees," Iris answered bemusedly. "Are you a child or what?"

Ash chuckled hesitantly, "Well uh, you could say that I'm not the best with directions?"

"You could say that again," Iris snorted. She shook her head, putting a hand on her hip and poking his chest with a finger, "How's this? I'll accompany you to Striaton. So you won't get lost again."

And that was how Ash gained his first travelling companion of Unova.

Iris was… interesting, to say in the least. During the course of their conversations he'd found out that she was a year older than him, from a place called the Dragon Village, and had no real goal in life as of yet. She excelled in directions, gathering berries, and just having an all around knowledge of Unova. She was also spunky, warm, and friendly.

All in all, Ash could have done a lot worse than draw Iris.

They made their way back along the path easily. Unfortunately, it also led Team Rocket to find him again easily.

Iris had found a tree full of apples for lunch, and they were munching amiably as they chatted when all of the sudden, two rubber mechanical hands came out of seemingly nowhere and snatched up Pikachu and Axew. Ash and Iris turned as one, and Ash couldn't help give an exhale of frustration at the sight of his long time enemy.

"You guys again?" He asked in slight annoyance.

Standing poised on a chunk of land that was raised from where Ash and Iris were was Team Rocket, a new gadget in their possession. It was some kind of briefcase with a mechanical arm extending from it, and at the end of the mechanical arm were the hands that had taken Axew and Pikachu. The two pokemon were squirming uncomfortably, trying to free themselves, but it was to no avail.

Jessie smiled, shaking her head slowly as if he had said something extremely stupid. On the face of it, he supposed it was an idiotic statement, because _of course_ it was Team Rocket. They always showed up at the most inopportune times. "If we were asked "you guys again'…"

James flipped his hair, and Ash thought with no small amount of vindication that Drew looked a hundred times cooler doing it. "We will answer for the sake of tomorrow!"

"Future! A white future reflects the color of evil!"

"Universe! The hammer of justice in a black world!"

"Our names will be remembered in this place!" Meowth cried out, joining in.

"Destroyer of passion, Jessie!"

"Heart of pure darkness, James!"

"Infinite intelligence, Meowth!"

"Come gather! Under the name of Team Rocket!"

Ash could practically feel Iris's nonplussed expression.

"Team… Rocket?" She asked uncertainly, sounding as if she wasn't sure whether to sigh or laugh at them. "Who are they?"

"They're pokemon thieves," Ash answered with a twist of his lips. They were mostly harmless, but their trade was hardly one to scoff at. And besides that, at the moment Ash had no pokemon on hand excepting Pikachu, which meant that there was little he could do himself about this particular standoff.

Ash allowed Iris and Team Rocket to exchange words as he thought furiously. If he'd caught another Pidove back in the forest, maybe he could have used it, but he hadn't. He couldn't believe that he'd forgotten about Team Rocket! It always seemed like a good idea to run off to another region with only Pikachu, but hadn't he learned time and time again that it usually led to bad situations like this one if Pikachu were made unavailable?

Then again, there were plenty of people who travelled with only one pokemon. It was just Ash's bad luck that made the venture impossible for him. Seriously, how many trainers had a trio of pokemon thieves always hounding their trail? Most people might encounter them once or twice in their lifetimes, not every freaking week like Ash.

"Iris," Ash cut in just as she launched into a frenzy over the question of how Meowth could speak the human language, "do you have any other pokemon on hand? Now would be the time to use them."

Iris paused mid-sentence, and hesitated. "Uh…"

Ash felt his stomach drop, "No?"

Iris laughed nervously, scratching her head, "Well I do, but it's…"

Ash whirled to face Team Rocket again, gritting his teeth. He couldn't allow them to take Pikachu, and if neither he nor Iris had usable pokemon, then that just meant that he'd have to take them out himself.

"I'm not letting you get away with this!" Ash yelled as he charged full speed ahead at the trio.

Meowth grinned, and snapped his fingers. Pikachu and Axew gave a cry of surprise as the hands holding them suddenly dropped them into a small transparent box that was likely resistant to electricity and all other forms of attack.

"I'll have fun with you, twerp!" Meowth said viciously as he sprang forward, claws extended towards Ash.

Ash stuttered to a stop, his mind blanking for a moment as he desperately wondered where he could duck.

And then, all of the sudden, a golden projectile came out of nowhere and knocked Meowth's attack off course.

Meowth gave a cry of pain as he scuttled back to the side of Jessie and James, glaring as the projectile made a turn in direction and went swinging back to its owner. A small blue otter-like pokemon caught it, looking fierce as he placed the projectile—which Ash could now see to be a shell—back onto its chest.

And then, a grin broke out across its face, and it began doing a little dance of victory, "Oshawott! Oshawott!"

"Oshawott," Ash breathed, "you helped us." Grinning, Ash turned back to face Team Rocket again, but this time far more confident, "Do you want to help out some more?"

"Osha! Osha!" The little blue pokemon exclaimed happily, bouncing to Ash's side.

Ash couldn't help but smile. There were always pokemon who just existed to help out, and he couldn't help but love them.

"Okay, not so fast twerp," Jessie said through narrowed eyes, reaching for an object at her belt. Not a moment later she had a pokeball in hand, "Go, Woobat!"

A small ball of fur with wings burst from Jessie's pokeball, floating a good distance in the air. Ash might have pulled out his pokedex because he'd never seen the creature before, but he was pretty sure that it was a flying type and besides, he wasn't seeking to battle it now. His focus was on the cage that trapped Pikachu and Axew.

"Oshawott, fire your shell at the cage!" Ash commanded.

Oshawott grinned, reaching for his shell.

"Not so fast!" Jessie growled, "Woobat, Air Blast!"

Ash's eyes widened as twin crescents of pressurized air emerged from the flying pokemon's wings, and he barely jumped out of the way as he gave another command, "Oshawott dodge!"

Oshawott didn't need to be told twice. It jumped away, just barely dodging the attack. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be able to deal with defence as well as it did with attack.

"Osha, Osha!" It cried in terror, burying its head in its hands as it trembled against the ground.

"Oshawott," Ash exclaimed in worry, "are you alright?"

Thankfully, the little creature seemed more frightened than actually hurt, because at Ash's voice it peeked up through its fingers and suddenly straightened, looking for all the world as if it were ready for another round. It patted its shell, eyes glittering determinedly.

Ash had to smile. He thought, maybe, as ridiculous as the thought was, that Oshawott was trying to impress him?

Honestly he didn't want to make it fight if it wasn't used to battle situations, but there wasn't another option at the moment. Ash turned with narrowed eyes back at the Woobat. It seemed that he would have to take out the flying pokemon before trying for the real goal.

Remembering how Snivy had been able to use Leaf Tornado, Ash asked, "Oshawott, can you use any water attacks?"

Oshawott nodded, taking a breath and sending a pillar of water into the sky.

Ash grinned, recognizing the move. It was Water Gun. While it wasn't the most powerful move in existence, he was also pretty sure that Jessie's pokemon was also new and that it couldn't have learned a bunch of powerful moves in such a short time. He could work with this.

"Alright Oshawott, let's do this," he said, quickly going through what he remembered about the trajectory of Oshawott's shell throw. "Fling your shell at Woobat!"

Unlike last time, Oshawott's attack was aimed directly at the other pokemon, which meant that if Woobat ignored it and attacked, then it would also be hit.

Jessie unfortunately realized this too. While Team Rocket weren't good trainers by any means, they weren't wholly stupid either. "Woobat, dodge! And then use Gust!"

"Oshawott," Ash commanded, as the shell whizzed past Woobat and the flying pokemon sent out another attack, "quickly, to your left! Get to the base of that tree! Then jump to the third branch!"

It was a little difficult being in charge of this battle, because Oshawott had never worked with Ash before and therefore didn't know how to interpret the Ketchum's thoughts. It meant that a lot of Ash's creativity was limited and that he had to be very explicit in his orders. But the little pokemon obeyed, and Ash couldn't ask for more.

Oshawott dodged the air gust and hopped up the branches just as the shell came whirling back, just in the nick of time. Its eyes widened as it leaned forward to catch it, realizing now that the human must have planned for it to be in just the right position.

"Now jump towards Woobat and use your shell!" Ash yelled in triumph.

Woobat, who was still trying to pull back from its attack, didn't stand a chance. Oshawott moved quickly, grasping the order with an impressive speed. It seemed to have understood Ash's intention as soon as it'd caught the shell, and was already moving before the words were even fully out of the dark haired boy's mouth.

It leapt off the branch towards a stunned Woobat, slashing at it with its shell. Woobat gave a cry of pain as the shell connected, and just as Ash thought, while its attack was great its defence was not. It fell from the sky, landing with a plume of dust.

"Aim your Water Gun towards the ground to slow your fall!" Ash called out with a grin as Oshawott too went spiralling towards the ground. Also grinning, the little pokemon did just as Ash asked, and managed to land with a flip and a lot of dignity.

It patted its shell in success as it stood proudly.

"Tch," Jessie pulled out her pokemon, retrieving her pokemon in a splay of red light as she glared at Ash, "you got lucky this time, kid."

"And you're not getting away," Ash replied equally as seriously.

"We'll see about that!" James sneered, pulling something from his waist as he kicked the transparent cage holding Axew and Pikachu towards him. The two pokemon cried out in terror, obviously afraid that they were going to be seriously hurt from the fall.

Ash's eyes widened and he dived forward to catch them, just as James threw whatever it was that he had retrieved at the ground and a plume of black smoke erupted from the ground at their feet. Ash didn't care though. He was too focused on Pikachu.

When he successfully caught the cage and prevented it from shattering on impact which would have surely hurt the pokemon, he realized that focusing on it was probably what Team Rocket wanted. He looked up to where they had been situated, not at all surprised that they weren't there anymore.

It was a classic maneuver to run after all, even if he hadn't thought Team Rocket capable of using such tactics.

"Axew, Axew!" Iris cried, sprinting towards him.

Ash turned back to the purple haired girl with a grin. In the end it didn't matter if Team Rocket had escaped. They weren't the good guys, and Ash would capture them if he could, but in the end it was most important that all the pokemon were safe.

They managed to open the cage and a moment later Pikachu and Axew had jumped back on their respective shoulders, keening happily that they were back.

"Okay," Iris said seriously after she'd checked Axew over three times. "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" Ash asked in confusion as he did the same for Pikachu.

"Do _what_?" Iris exclaimed, "I mean, how did you battle like that! That was amazing!"

Ash chucked, scratching Pikachu behind the ear where Ash knew he liked it. "It wasn't anything big Iris." Smiling, Ash turned back to the one who had made this all possible, "It was all this little guy, right Oshawott?"

"Osha!" The little blue pokemon said proudly as it stuck out its chest, basking in the glory.

"We worked pretty well together, didn't we?" Ash grinned, squatting down at the little pokemon's level and holding out a hand, "Thank you."

"Osha!" The little pokemon grinned back, reaching out to take the hand only to pause, stop, and drop his paw. An unbearably sad expression crossed its face.

Ash frowned, wondering what possibly could be the matter. He paused, thinking back to the strange green haired boy back in the forest. He could make predictions about what Oshawott was thinking (probably something to do with hunger or exhaustion) but he couldn't be sure. And that was the whole problem wasn't it? Ash wasn't sure what the pokemon were ever thinking, and he probably offended a ton of them by making assumptions.

"Oshawott," Ash said gently, "you can feel free to ask anything of us, you know. I don't understand you—I am sorry about that, so could you please give us a hint?"

The little blue pokemon's eyes brightened, and a big smile spread over its face as it leaped up with a 'Osha' of self importance and scampered to Ash's side. The pokemon reached out one of its little paws and just barely brushed against the dark haired boy's belt, right where his pokeballs were located.

Ash's eyes widened, wondering why he hadn't seen it sooner. Perhaps it was because so few pokemon actually wanted to be captured without a fight, or perhaps it was because the green haired boy's words were still on his mind. Still, this wasn't the first time that Ash had gotten a proposition like this. "Are you saying you want to come with us?"

Oshawott nodded, giving a determined 'wott'.

Ash nodded, straightening again as he pulled an empty pokeball from his belt. A smile on his face, Ash winked at the little creature before throwing the pokeball at Oshawott's head. Oshawott stood proudly, looking pleased at the human finally understanding.

Unfortunately, no amount of mental preparation could alter the facts. The pokeball hit Oshawott square in the center of its forehead, but the expected red beam signalling a successful capture did not come. Instead, the pokeball bounced off and stayed inert.

Ash furrowed his brows, "What the…?"

Oshawott's head followed the direction that the pokeball rolled in, looking equally as confused, "Osha…?"

"Wow," Iris laughed, still nuzzling Axew as if her life depended on it. She was likely just not over the terror of nearly never seeing her partner again. "You can't even throw a pokeball right?"

"That's not it!" Ash shot back with a tinge of annoyance, although inwardly he couldn't help but feel a little tendril of doubt. He hadn't caught a fresh pokemon in quite a while after all, and maybe, just maybe, his skills at capture were rusty.

How else could he explain the pokeball not working even when the pokemon was perfectly willing? The only other case it happened in was when the pokemon belonged to someone else, and Oshawott's attitude did not fit in at all with a pokemon that already had another trainer.

Ash's eyes widened as he realized that there was another possibility to all of this. While Oshawott might not have another trainer, it definitely could already have a pokeball assigned to it.

"Are you the same Oshawott that was at Professor Juniper's labs?" Ash exclaimed, shock coloring his tone. This time he didn't wonder why he didn't think of it sooner, because the situation was really strange.

Oshawott nodded happily, confirming his suspicions. It patted its clam shell, "Osha!"

Ash hesitated.

With the new piece of information, he suddenly wasn't sure that his previous course of action was the best one.

He really wasn't sure about this. The starter pokemon were starter pokemon for a reason. He still remembered the first day of his pokemon journey, when he had woken too late to find that all of the three starters of Kanto had already been taken.

While he couldn't have been gladder for it now, because otherwise he never would have met Pikachu, he did realize that starters were somewhat sacred. They were already trained and had some ability in order to make it easier on the starting trainer. The starting pokemon were docile in a way that wild pokemon often were not when they were first captured, thus making them ideal as the first partner of any trainer.

Certainly, Pikachu had never battled with Ash at first as well as Snivy did with Trip, or Piplup did with Dawn. They'd developed a bond later on, but Pikachu could never be so obedient in their first few battles.

Snivy had been taken by Trip, but Oshawott and Tepig were supposed to remain for the final two trainers that were due to arrive at Juniper's labs. If Ash took Oshawott, the final trainer would have no trained pokemon.

But Oshawott had already come all this way just to apparently join him and Pikachu on their journey, and Ash would hate to turn it away after all that effort. And then there was a small, more selfish part of him that really wanted Oshawott as _his_ pokemon. They'd worked so well together after all.

But he couldn't be selfish about this.

"How about this then," he determined, "there will be a com link in the next town over, and we'll clear things up with Professor Juniper then."

Oshawott didn't seem to pick up on Ash's uncertainty, instead probably thinking that he only wanted to retrieve the pokeball. It agreed happily.

Ash might have felt guilty for sorta deceiving the little guy, but that wasn't really what he was trying to do. He'd never make Oshawott return against its will, but he also knew that Oshawott had never really explored the world before and probably didn't know a whole lot.

He was absolutely positive that Oshawott would be just as happy with a new trainer as it would be with Ash, and he'd give Oshawott a talk about that if it came to them parting. But he also had to admit that he liked the little guy and that if Juniper gave the OK, Ash was all down for keeping the Oshawott. And then no explanation would be necessary.

As it turned out, Ash needn't have worried.

When they finally arrived at the nearest transfer station and contacted Juniper, she assured him that it was alright of him to take Oshawott along.

"Things work differently than in Kanto, Ash," Juniper told him, sounding slightly amused, "the trainers all start at different times. We can definitely train another pokemon by the time the next trainer comes to town. If Oshawott wants to go with you, you can feel free to take him. Here, I'll send you his pokeball."

And Ash couldn't stop smiling. He'd gotten his first pokemon of the Unova region, and he couldn't think of how it could have turned out better than this.

xXxXxXx

A/n: Meeeh I seriously wanted to skip this episode/chapter/whatever, but Iris and Oshawott deserve their entry. And o.o usually I wouldn't put in Team Rocket's motto, but I realized that the English dub changed the motto from the jap version. So here is the 'original'.


	4. Chapter 4

xXxXxXx

Oshawott and he, as it turned out, worked better together than he would have even imagined. After Juniper had sent Ash the little otter pokemon's ball, they had a little adventure at the hotsprings, in which they helped a quirky Sandile rescue a herd of pokemon from wild geysers.

They'd also fought off Team Rocket again, although that wasn't a feat really worth noting. Defeating Team Rocket weekly had become as much of a part of Ash's journey as sighting new pokemon was.

He had to admit though that there was something disturbing about them this time around. He had no idea why. Maybe it was because in the three times he'd encountered them, they'd never blasted off once, or maybe it was just that they seemed to cut the almost humorous insults that they always shouted, but they seemed… more serious?

It was a strange thought, because Team Rocket had been relatively goofy for as long as he could remember, but he supposed that if he could grow up, so could they. Certainly, he'd never have been able to make it into the Top 4 at the Lily of the Valley Conference when he was ten.

They'd arrived at Accumula Town after that.

Ash mistook it for Striaton, but Iris had been quick to correct him. Ash had been disappointed, because it'd been weeks since he'd last had a decent battle and he had to admit that he was getting antsy. Iris was strangely reluctant to train with him, and while Ash was able to kinda have Pikachu and Oshawott clash, it wasn't the same as going up against another mind.

Iris however, had a solution for him, because even though she herself didn't want to set herself up as a target for Ash, she explained that there were those who willingly went through it.

"Battle Clubs?" Ash had questioned.

"You're such a kid, not even knowing that," Iris said with a roll of her eyes, but there was a hint of good natured humor in them that told Ash she wasn't serious. "Honestly, I have no idea how you can battle like _that_ and still not know simple things like this."

"Hey, I'm not native to Unova!" Ash defended with a cry.

Iris shook her head, "But normally people only come to Unova because of the unique features like Battle Clubs and Triple Battles, don't they? Gosh, I can't believe you came to an entirely new region without reading a single handbook! Alright, listen closely, these are what Battle Clubs are…"

And then Iris explained everything.

Ash was immediately taken by the idea of the Battle Clubs. It was like training for the Leagues. He'd signed himself and Oshawott up straight away and got quite a few battles out of it. By the time that they'd left, Oshawott had completely managed to master spinning in battles. Ash was planning on teaching him the counter shield next, but he conceded that it was unlikely Oshawott would have it ready in time for the Striaton gym.

He heard of the green haired boy again in Accumula. Apparently just a few days before they'd arrived, the teen had passed through. He'd given a tongue lashing to the owner of the battle clubs, Don, after finding a starved Tepig in Accumula that no one had known about. Don still hadn't stopped feeling guilty. The teen hadn't given a name, but had taken the Tepig with him.

And then, finally, they arrived in Striaton.

They were greeted by the strangest host ever.

"Your Axew!" The bizarre, green haired man was saying with a dreamy far away voice. He'd just bumped into Iris as she and Ash were discussing his upcoming gym battle, "Soft skin as fresh as new grass, fangs like newly sprouted young shoots, and a future as bright and limitless as the early morning sun. The perfect partner for a young lady who seems at one with nature."

He introduced himself as a Pokemon Connoisseur, which Ash took a great interest in. He was always fascinated by the differences in culture and how events surrounding pokemon evolved depending on the area.

After explanations and introductions were done with, Iris was quick to remind Ash that they still needed a guide for Striaton.

"Oh?" The man who'd named himself as Cilan asked, "You're looking for the Striaton gym?"

"Do you know where that is?" Ash questioned hopefully.

Cilan nodded, smiling as he flourished a grand gesture with his arm, "Indeed I do. It's right this way. It'll be a pleasure to show such compatible partners to the gym."

Iris giggled, and Ash couldn't help but grin. He didn't like to brag per se –he wasn't that little kid who had just started out on his pokemon journey with no knowledge but a lot of arrogance— but he had to admit his chest puffed up with pride at Cilan's compliments. He'd raised his pokemon right.

But instead of an arena like Ash thought they were going, they walked into a diner.

"Oh! New guests!" A red haired waiter exclaimed as he appeared quite literally by their sides as soon as they stepped foot into the establishment. He took Ash and Iris by their arms, not giving them a chance to protest as he twirled them to a small table and sat them down. With a grin he let them go and took out a notebook, "Well then, please let me hear your order."

"Or," another waiter, this one blue haired instead, said as he glided towards them. He didn't displace the other waiter—instead he seemed to compliment him, as if only adding to the options rather than giving another entirely. "Shall I bring you something to drink first?"

"Um…" Wide eyed, Ash looked to Iris, but she seemed equally as confused as he.

With a chuckle, Cilan appeared by their side, "Chilli, Cress, these two aren't here to eat. They're actually here for a gym battle."

Immediately, the demeanor of the two waiters changed. They straightened, and all of the sudden it seemed as if the room had gotten a lot smaller.

"Oh?" The red haired man said with a twinkle in his eye, "A gym battle you say?"

Ash chuckled, scratching his head, "Well actually, even though that's what I've come here for… after seeing all this food I am a little hungry. And I think my pokemon are too. Is it possible to eat first?"

Cilan's eyebrows rose, and the two waiters exchanged a look.

"Well," the blue haired man said with a trace of a smile touching his lips, "we live to serve. What would you like?"

"Ash," Iris said with a roll of her eyes, but didn't stop him as he proceeded to order what looked the best.

He let Oshawott out during the meal too, so that he could enjoy it with Pikachu and Axew. The food really was good, and he didn't regret taking the time to it before his battle despite the fact that he'd been gearing towards it ever since he'd arrived in Unova. There was something to be said about patience.

Cilan sat with them, and they led an amicable chatter until Ash was finally done.

"That was delicious," he said with closed eyes as he leaned back on his chair and patted his belly. Opening one eye he looked down to his pokemon with a grin, "What do you say guys? Up for some after meal exercise?"

"Pika!"

"Osha!"

Grinning, Ash pushed back his chair and stood up, nodding towards Cilan, "Could we have that gym battle now?"

Cilan's eyes twinkled, and he tilted his head to reply, but before he could, he was interrupted.

"Finally ready?" The red haired gym leader beamed as he popped out from seemingly nowhere, "We'll greet you passionately, like scorching fire!"

"No," the blue haired one tsked as he glided over, "I think we shall greet him coolly, like cold water."

"How about we let him decide?" Cilan asked with twitching lips.

They led him to the back of the restaurant, and it had to be the coolest thing ever that a gym was located right inside a place full of food. Ash had seen plenty of crazy gym locations before, but this was probably his favorite.

He didn't even really mind the screaming girls that'd followed them to see 'Cilan-sama, Chili-sama, and Cress-sama' in action. He'd long since gotten used to crowds in his League battles, and he knew he could give them such a fantastic battle that they'd soon be chanting 'Ash Ash'!

"And now," Cilan said with a bow, "will you please choose your battle opponent?"

"Choose?"

"Yes, that's right."

And at those words, the triplets proceeded to show off their pokemon.

Ash took out his pokedex, and quickly scanned the three creatures. When he was done, he bit his lip, not sure which one to pick. They all seemed really awesome!

And then he blinked, because when had he ever let something like this stop him? "I'll fight all three of you!"

The three triplets blinked as one, leaning forward with identical looks of surprise on their faces, "Eh?"

"EH?!" Iris screeched.

"This is my first match since I came to Unova," Ash explained with a grin, "so I'd like to battle as many different types of pokemon as possible."

"Well," Cilan laughed weakly, seeming to have recovered from the initial shock. "Now we have a bit of a problem. This is the first time we've gotten a trainer like you here. What now?"

Chili tilted his head with a grin, "It's quite an interesting suggestion, isn't it? I wouldn't mind."

Cress hummed thoughtfully, "Then how about this? The rule is you'll get the badge if you win two out of three matches."

Cilan nodded with a smile and turned back to Ash, "Is that alright with you?"

"More than alright," Ash grinned, only to laugh sheepishly and scratch the side of his head, "to be honest I wasn't too sure if you guys were going to agree. Thanks for this!"

"Hang on, just a moment," Iris said with a forced smile, before grabbing onto Ash's collar and dragging him off to the side, ignoring his startled protests of 'hey, hey!'.

When they were a fair distance away from the trio, Iris whirled on him, arms crossed.

"Ash," Iris hissed, "in case you haven't noticed, you've just committed yourself to battling three pokemon, but you only have two available to you!"

Ash blinked as he took in what Iris said, and the next moment he was slapping his hand to his forehead, feeling stupid. "I completely forgot about that! I must have been too excited about the idea of a gym match."

"You're honestly such a kid at times," the dark haired girl huffed, shaking her head. "Well at least now that you've realized, you can correct this."

"I want to fight them all if I could, though," Ash said forlornly as he gazed back at the trio. And then, he blinked and grinned back at Iris, "Hey hey, he said a best two out of three match, right?"

Now it was Iris's turn to blink as she nodded slowly, not seeing where Ash was going with this.

"So," Ash explained, "all this means is that I have to win my two matches, and then I won't need a third pokemon!"

Iris's mouth dropped open, but before she could proceed to tell him what a stupidly bad idea this was, Officer Jenny burst into the arena.

"Gym Leaders!" She cried as the doors slammed open, "We have a situation!"

Whatever thoughts about the battle were forgotten.

The three gym leaders of Striaton immediately burst into action, and Ash and Iris did not have to even consult each other before racing towards the policewoman with all intentions to help. She quickly explained the situation, informing them of a mysterious pink mist outside that was causing all the pokemon to fall into coma.

Ash felt a prickle of apprehension at the description, his mind flashing back to that nightmarish day in the town where Darkrai lived. He only hoped that this was nothing like that.

Cress and Chilli dispersed to do crowd control, to tell the citizens of Striaton that everything was going to be alright and to get them not to panic. Only Cilan stayed.

"I'm going to go to the Dream Yard to see if that might be the reason," the green haired man explained to Ash and Iris, "we'll definitely have our gym battle afterwards though."

"Who can care about something like that when something like this is happening?" Ash exclaimed, "Look—we'll go with you."

Cilan's eyes flashed with seriousness, but his voice was warm, "Are you sure? It might be dangerous."

"Positive," Ash nodded. He scratched his Pikachu under his chin, "We've been in situations like this before, and besides, pokemon are getting hurt."

"I don't know how well we can help," Iris added, "but it can only increase your chances if you have more people, right?"

Cilan's smile was bright enough to light the arena as he reached out and took both Ash's and Iris's hands, "Striaton will be glad to have you then."

Cilan and Officer Jenny led the way. They met up with a woman who introduced herself as Dr. Fennel on the way, and she explained to them in bitter terms the experimentation that had been conducted at the Dream Yard and the horrendous results.

"I don't understand why anyone would wish to open up Pandora's box again," she ended, her face ashen.

Ash moved a hand over his face and let out a breath. He was never sure about pokemon experimentation.

He always liked to think that it was something else which partners did—something which both the pokemon and the human agreed on and science was simply another tool to understand pokemon better. Like battling, it could also strengthen the bonds between partners.

But it was also too easy then to begin seeing pokemon as nothing more than test subjects. He'd seen it enough during his journey that he knew it to be a real problem. It was wonderful to try and develop a pokemon's true potential, but one had to be extremely careful to remember that it was about the pokemon first and foremost.

Thankfully, the villains of this chapter weren't the rouge scientists come back.

Instead, it was people very familiar to Ash.

"You again!" He exclaimed as they skidded to a stop inside the inner sanctuary of the Dream Yard.

"Yes," Jessie grinned as nudged the little laptop at their feet with the tip of her toe. "Us."

"Who are they?" Officer Jenny asked with narrowed eyes as she glanced back at Ash and Iris, who had both gone tense at the sight of the Rocket Trio.

"They're pokemon thieves," Iris growled, "call themselves 'Team Rocket'."

Officer Jenny's eyes went wide.

"Team Rocket?" She whirled back to the trio, "What's a Kanto organization doing here?!"

"Simple," James grinned. "We're planning on taking the leftover energy from this demolished dream site."

Meowth nodded, a knowing glint in his eyes, as if he were stating fact rather than a hope. "And we're not planning on letting you guys interfere!"

"I can't believe that there are people who still want to take advantage of our dreams." Dr. Fennel gasped in dismay.

Cilan narrowed his eyes, "Dr. Fennel, is it possible that Musharna was trying to warn you about all of this through Munna?"

Dr. Fennel turned to him, eyes wide, "I hadn't thought of that."

"Munna! Munna!"

And then, as if called by the realization and the younger pokemon's cry, the air around them rippled with buried power. It turned pink with the intensity.

Ash's eyes widened, and he stumbled backwards.

Vaguely he heard the others, including Team Rocket, question what was going on, but their voices sounded static as if he were hearing them through a radio, and at a great distance. Images flashed across his mind at a lightning quick pace, burying him in his mind.

Pokemon. Species of all kinds, but distinctly insect-like in their appearance. Fearful. Pained. Running. A rock. A carving?

A ringing in his ears, an unending pain.

The blistering sound transformed, going from one of agony to one of joy and peace. But there was warning in that song. A feeling of foreboding ahead.

A grassy field. Pokemon, hurt. Ears missing, fur burnt, bruises covering every inch of their bodies. Moaning, groaning, crying out. Pleading.

A great white beast, standing high above, looking down upon the mortal plain with a look of disdain in its eyes. Scorching flames, licking, burning, consuming him. It was too hot, too hot too hot _too hot_ and he couldn't breathe, couldn't draw air because of the heat in his lungs and—

—the scene changed. Now it was cold, and the sudden shift in temperature sent an electrifying jolt through his body. He was aware of a pair of large black eyes, staring hungrily into the depths of his soul…

Ash came back to his conscious self with a gasp, just catching the tail end of Team Rocket's explanation on their interest in Musharna. His companions were trying to stop them and even Pikachu was tugging at Ash for him to give the command to help, but Ash couldn't move.

"Pansage, go!" Cilan ordered as he released his pokemon from his ball, "Solar Beam!"

"Axew, distract them with Scratch!"

"Munna, Telekinesis!"

The attacks hit, destroying the machine that Team Rocket had used to capture Musharna. With a hiss Jessie brought out her pokemon, and with a command of 'Whirlwind' they vanished before Officer Jenny or Cilan could do anything about them.

"Well," Iris huffed as she recalled Axew and turned to Ash with a frown, "A little help would have been nice."

"I'm sorry," he said shakily, briefly closing his eyes, "I'm sorry."

Iris's expression instantly changed into one of concern, "Ash, what…?"

"You look guilty," Cilan said with a frown as he came up to the two of them. "Ah, it does not taste good."

"I just—I should have helped. I don't know why I froze up like that."

Cilan's face instantly cleared, "Oh, is that why you were worried? Please don't worry about it. The likes of Team Rocket aren't something that most trainers have to deal with. That's why we gym leaders are here after all. Protecting the city is our duty, and it's not the responsibility of wandering trainers to take care of our problems."

"No they—" Ash began, only to stop mid-sentence. He'd been about to say, _they followed me here_, but he was no longer sure that was true.

The stunt with Musharna had nothing to do with Pikachu, and he had a terrible feeling that there was much more to it than what Cilan and the others had been able to stop. He'd never associated huge plans with Team Rocket, but for a moment there, it had felt as if he were going up against Team Galatic all over again and not his goofy trio.

And hadn't the final battle with Galatic been nearly disastrous? Ash wasn't one to contemplate his own mortality often, but they'd been lucky to get out of that scrap alive.

And what was that dream about anyway?

"Are you okay?" Iris asked, concern evident in her voice.

"Yeah," was Ash's response. There was a part of him that tinged in protest, telling him that it was a lie and that he was far from OK if he'd missed a confrontation with Team Rocket. But he quickly pushed that part down, because he didn't want to acknowledge it.

xXxXxXx

A/n: You guys see the new arc of Best Wishes? N finally shows. I'm happy. Unfortunately it also means that as I'm satisfied with Pokemon, I no longer really have a motivation to write this, hence why this chapter took forever. And wow I just suck at writing light hearted fics in general.


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